Harm to Others Harms the Presence of G-d

Parashat Naso – 5873

Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, Rabbi of Western Wall and Holy Sites

The portion Naso continues the previous portion by describing the census of the tribe of Levi and the division of tasks given to them in the service of the Tabernacle (Mishkan) during the Israelites’ journey in the desert. This is followed by a number of halachic chapters on various topics, after which we return to read about the establishment of the Tabernacle and the sacrifices of the presidents of the twelve tribes who inaugurated the Tabernacle. We would like to shine a spotlight on one of these issues and learn from it.

This short portion begins with the following sentence:

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Tell the children of Israel: When a man or woman commits any of the sins against man to act treacherously against God, and that person is [found] guilty.
(Numbers 5, 6)

The words “to act treacherously against G-d” cast us into the world of the Tabernacle-Temple. When a person steals from the Temple or uses an object owned by the Temple, this act is considered “a treacherous act.” Is this really a person who damaged Temple property? Let’s go ahead and see:

…they shall confess the sin they committed, and make restitution for the principal amount of his guilt, add its fifth to it, and give it to the one against whom he was guilty.
(Ibid Ibid, 7)

In this verse we discover that the victim is not the Temple but some person. A person who commits a certain sin against another – we still do not know what sin it is – is considered to have “acted treacherously against G-d,” and is required to pay the victim the value of the injury with a fine of one-fifth of the value of the injury.

Note that the fine imposed on the offender is also reminiscent of the fine imposed on those who embezzle Temple property, as stated in Leviticus:

If a person commits a betrayal and trespasses unintentionally against [one] of the things sacred to the Lord… And what he has trespassed against the holy thing he shall pay, and he shall add one fifth of its value to it, and he shall give it to the kohen.
(Leviticus 5, 15-16)

However, despite the similarity between the cases, in the portion we are dealing with, the attack was directed at a specific person and not at the Temple. What sin is this?

The commentators refer us again to Leviticus, to the same chapter we just peeked at. There, a case similar to the one described in our parasha is described, but in detail:

If a person sins, betraying the Lord by falsely denying to his fellow concerning a deposit, or money given in hand, or an object taken by robbery, or he withheld funds from his fellow, or he found a lost article and he denied it…
(Ibid Ibid, 21-22)

It turns out that the short portion presented here is  a complement to the portion written in Leviticus, and it deals with the case of a person who was entrusted with an object, and when the depositor came to claim his property, the person in possession of the object denied that the object was in his possession, or by chance found a lost item and decided to deny that it was in his possession. In these cases, the denier – who, of course, was caught lying – is required to pay the value of the object plus one-fifth of its value.

But if so, we must clarify: What does this portion add to the portion written in Leviticus? We will discover the answer to this question in the following verse:

But if the man has no kinsman to whom to make restitution, the debt which is restored to the Lord, [is to be given] to the kohen.
(Numbers 5, 8)

There may be a case where the usurped person dies and has no heirs. This case is possible only with a “ger”, a Gentile who converted and joined the Jewish people and has no relatives. In this case, there is no one to whom to return the theft, but the denier-thief does not benefit from the situation. He is required to pay the priest serving in the Temple.

This is a social problem – a person who stole or deceived the “ger” – that turns into a problem of man vis-à-vis G-d, and precisely against the background of the establishment of the Tabernacle about which we are reading. The presence of G-d among the people of Israel, the “dwelling of the Divine Presence,” is impaired when social problems such as exploitation and theft of a stranger exist. A person who deceives others, especially if the other is a stranger without a protective family backing, is “acting treacherously against G-d.” This is a direct blow to the dwelling of the Divine Presence. Therefore, in the event that there is no way to return the theft to the person from whom it was stolen, or his relatives, the payment goes to the Temple.

This is what the Torah teaches us: Harming others harms G-d’s presence.